Sorting myself out.

It feels very good. There's lots of space now that I have unpacked but I still have to produce a painting here. I seem to have faced this dilemma so many times - each time on arrival in France and then on my return.  The break and change in studio is disruptive and getting the flow back takes effort. I shall feel better once the painting on the easel is finished - the rest will follow.   

The bus to Pontypool.

Nothing is unpacked except for paints, palette knives and everything else I need to be able to get on with  work. The room is in need of a good clean and the paintwork is pretty disgusting but I've been in worse and by the time I've got the canvas on the easel and sorted out the paints, it's not something I notice.
I'm going to enjoy cleaning and decorating the place - but I can't afford to take time to do it now.
Something is going on in Cardiff and it's all kicking off in front of the castle just outside my window. Hordes of  people are celebrating .....A person goes by dressed as a duck but he's having difficulty seeing where he's going so someone takes him by the hand and leads him down the road.
A bus goes by with Pontypool on the front. Now that's a good omen.

Almost there

In the short time I spent in the new studio before leaving for London I set up my stereo system. With no time to start painting (or unpacking) getting the radio working was the first job. Now I'm back with fresh supplies of paint and looking forward to starting work again. The weather is getting warmer and with the windows open I can hear the traffic below and look over at the castle.

A last look around.

The two days I spent packing up in the studio I had no time to dwell on the sadness of leaving a place where I had been very happy. However I did remember to take some images to remind me of this place and I'm glad I did.
It documents 14 months work but it also reminds me of how I made this place my own.
Now I need to start again. With only a short time to complete work for the Albany Gallery Summer Show I will have to ignore the fact that the new place needs decorating or that the floor needs a covering. That will have to wait. I just need the basics in place - easel, table, paints and palette knives along with some canvases. And of course the radio.

Another room,another view.

All my paintings, my paints and easel are stacked in the new room waiting for me but it will be a couple of weeks before I get back to work. In the meantime my two grandsons are spending their school holiday with me in Wales so I'm happily enjoying time with them and not thinking about painting.
In a little over a week it will be very different, I'll be in London at the opening of an exhibition of my brother's paintings. I'm already confident that this will inspire me to get back to work and I'll return with fresh ideas and enthusiasm.